13/06/2011

Cimi launches book on isolated indigenous peoples in the Amazon

Who are the isolated indigenous peoples ? How many are there? Where are they and how do they live? What are the threats to them? Responses to these questions are found in the book "Isolated Indigenous Peoples in the Amazon – A struggle for survival" that the Indigenist Missionary Council (CIMI) and the Federal University of Amazonas will launch on Tuesday, June 14, in the office of the Attorney General in Brasilia (DF).

Organized by Guenter Francisco Loebens and Lino João de Oliveira, the work is part of the series "New Anthropology of Amazonia", published by the Editora Universidade Federal do Amazonas (EDUA). It is the result of the active presence of social agents working with indigenous peoples and seeks to provide visibility to a reality little known  to Brazilians, let alone by people abroad: the life of the isolated indigenous peoples.

Data from the publication reveal that circa 150 indigenous peoples live in situations of isolation worldwide, 127 of which are in South America. Of these, 90 are Brazil. One of the threats weighing over these peoples is the threat of their extinction. The Avá-Canoeiro group, for example, suffered a massacre in the late 1960s and their population was almost entirely decimated.

The 366 page book is divided into two parts, the first containing 13 articles that provide a detailed overview of the reality of isolated people, revealing their struggle for survival in Brazil and in six other South American countries (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia , Venezuela and Paraguay). The four chapters of the second part present the culture of the Suruwaha people, of recent contact and their relationship with CIMI.

Principal organizers of the publication will be present for the launch. Among them, Guenter Francisco Loebens, CIMI missionary in Regional Norte 1 of the CNBB (northern Amazonas and Roraima) and anthropologist Lino João Oliveira Neves. The Assistant Attorney General and coordinator of the 6th Chamber of the Ministério Público Federal (MPF) Dr. Deborah Duprat has also confirmed her attendance as have the representatives of the Avá-Canoeiro people.

 

The publication will also be launched in Rondonia, tomorrow at 19:30, at the Casa de Formação das Irmãs Catequistas Franciscanas, on the Avenida Rio de Janeiro. The Rondônia launch will be attended by indigenous representatives from the states of the Brazilian Amazon and CIMI missionaries serving in the Western Amazônia, Mato Grosso, Rondônia and North I regional staff.

"Isolated indigenous Peoples in the Amazon – A struggle for survival" may be purchased through CIMI by telephone:  (61) 2106-1650. The value is R$   30,- plus postal fees where applicable.

 

Fonte: Indigenist missionary council (cimi)
Share this: